COLLINE DE L'ANCIENNE FORTERESSE

Behind the mausoleum is a hill on which the Turkestan citadel once stood, and which can be explored further, particularly around two sites. Access to the hill is free, but you will be asked to pay an entrance fee to the museum.

A mosque dating from 1878 dominates the mausoleum complex. This mosque is no longer active, and has been converted into a museum. Of the forty or so active mosques in Turkestan, this is the oldest and only one to have been preserved. All the other mosques currently active in the city are of modern construction.

The ^12th-century underground mosque, also located on the hill, is a real local curiosity. In a room at the far end of the building is the underground cell where Yasawi retired at the age of 63 (in reference to the age at which the Prophet Mohammed died). The first room is a living room, whose walls are entirely covered with frescoes depicting the 99 names of God in Kazakh, Arabic and Russian. The mosque itself is a small room that opens onto the far right of the common room. A lighted shaft leads to Yasawi's cell. The entrance to the cell is via a staircase located in the room at the far end of the building.

This very attractive stone and brick construction is in fact a reconstruction... You can, however, take a look at the ruins of the original building just opposite the entrance.